CKE Restaurants announces plans to expand Hardee's chain into US Northeast, starting in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts; restaurants expected to open in next 12-18 months

Nevin Barich

CARPINTERIA, California , September 30, 2013 (press release) – Consumer demand and the right partner lead Hardee’s to bring its popular 100 percent Black Angus Thickburgers and Made from Scratch Biscuits to New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut

With vast growth potential, Hardee’s® and parent company CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. announce plans to expand the burger chain and innovative premium-quality menu selections into the Northeast, starting in New Jersey and New York, then onward to Connecticut and Massachusetts. The new restaurants are expected to open in the next 12 to 18 months.

“It’s a massive advance into prime territory and a tremendous opportunity for a highly anticipated return,” said Jim Sullivan, senior vice president of domestic franchise development for CKE, which owns both the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.® burger chain brands. “We’ve heard from residents all across the region for years, begging us to bring our food back to them. We just needed the right partner.”

CKE makes the announcement in concert with franchisee Bhupen “Bob” Patel, who was selected for his deep knowledge of the industry and the area. Patel said he chose Hardee’s because he was “in search of a better burger brand to support and grow, and as soon as I learned there was interest and the potential to reopen Hardee’s here in the Northeast, I knew I had found what I was seeking.”

According to Sullivan and Patel, the potential exists to open some 200 Hardee’s restaurants in the region in the next five years and ultimately 1,000-plus throughout the Northeast. The stand-alone units will average 2,500 to 2,750 square feet each and they will include drive-thru service, Patel said.

Before it was bought by CKE in 1997, Hardee’s operated restaurants in the Northeast, but all had closed by the ’90s. Since the brand’s purchase and successful turnaround by CKE, the renewed Hardee’s restaurants feature partial table service and quality menu items such as 100 percent Black Angus premium charbroiled burgers, Hand-Breaded Chicken Tenders™, Hand-Scooped Ice Cream Shakes™ and, of course, the iconic Hardee’s Made from Scratch Biscuits™.

About Hardee’s

Celebrating more than 50 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s® Food Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,373 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 28 foreign countries and U.S. territories worldwide, including 1,403 Carl's Jr.® restaurants and 1,965 Hardee's® restaurants. For more information, or to find a Hardee’s near you, go to www.hardees.com. Hardee’s social media sites include www.facebook.com/hardees, www.twitter.com/hardees and www.youtube.com/hardees.

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